The cities of Norwood and Young America in Carver County have long shared many similarities in the history of their development, growth and population. Over the years, the councils of each city discussed the possibility of merging to form one town, thus sharing all debt and spending costs. Many resolutions and votes were cast and mergers rejected before anything came out of this plan.
The first attempt at joining the cities of Norwood and Young America occurred back in 1974. In late September of that year, the Norwood City Council passed a merger resolution, followed by the Young America City Council in October. The Minnesota Municipal commission approved the plan on December 5. The resolution was put to vote among citizens on December 14, 1974. Norwood residents chose to pass the resolution with a vote of 172 “yes” to 99 “no”. Young America residents disagreed with that, and said “no” with 317 votes and only 56 ‘yes”.
Early in 1989, the West Carver partnership conducted a survey among Norwood and Young America residents on the issue of the survey. According to this survey, 2 out of every 3 residents supported a merger, with 1 out of 5 disagreeing with the idea. Those who most strongly supported the merger were aged 35-64, with the older residents 65 or older providing the least support. Despite these positive survey results, the issue did get past the vote of the city councils this time around. In September 1989, the city of Young America presented a merger resolution to the Norwood council members. They declined to approve, but said they would remain open to future discussions.
In 1994, the merger issue was broached for a third time. That year, the two cities applied for grant funding to help them combine some of the services. This led to the formation of a steering committee to lead the merger plan and the receipt of state funds towards this goal. After both councils approved the resolution and agreed that a majority vote in each town would decide the issue, it was put to vote among residents on November 7, 1995. This time, the merger passed. Norwood residents voted 295 “yes” and 107 “no”. Young America residents voted 309 “yes” and 200 “no”. The total vote was 604 in favor of and 307 against, an almost 50/50 split at 66%.
With the passing of the merger, the two cities would combine fire departments, police forces, and facilities, along with a combined annual budget. Based on the 1994 budgets, the proposed annual savings from merging would be $54,948. The two cities had just over a “year of cooperation” to solidify the joint budget, facilities, and comprehensive plans (November to January 1997). In June 1996, the new city of Norwood-Young America (NYA) received a Coorperation and Consolidation award from the League of Minnesota Cities for the merger process.
On January 1, 1997, NYA officially celebrated the merger with fireworks, dog sled rides, choral performances, a snow sculpture contest, a memorabilia display, and the swearing in of the new NYA council. One of the biggest concern with the newly merged cities was the issue of the post office, which was stated as reasoning for not approving the merger in the past. In the end, it was decided that people would keep their previous zipcode. The USPS decided the old Norwood post office would be closed, the Young America branch would be used for the Young America Corp., and a new branch would open on Merger Street, in the middle of the newly joined towns. The new branch opened in January 1999.
While the merging of these two cities was controversial, the merger has seemed to be successful over the years. Many residents still claim to live in either Norwood or Young America rather than Norwood Young America or NYA, but that seems to be the only residual issue.
“A Merger? Most Norwood and Young America Residents Say Yes.” Norwood Young America Times, September 7, 1989.
Larson, Tim. “Councils to Plan Retreat to Discuss merger.” Norwood Young America Times, November 16, 1995.
Larson, Tim. “Merger Passes.” Norwood Young America Times, November 9, 1995.
Larson, Tim. “Young America Also Approves Total Vote Majority.” Norwood Young America Times, September 21, 1995.
Lemke, Margaret. “Cities Receive Award for Merger.” Norwood Young America Times, June 27, 1996.
———. “Door is Open for N-YA Merger Talks.” Norwood Young America Times, September 14, 1989.
———. “Norwood Decides Merger Vote to be Counted as One.” Norwood Young America Times, September 14, 1995.
———. “NYA Addresses, Zip Codes Confuse People After Merger.” Norwood Young America Times, January 9, 1997.
———. “NYA Salary Study to be Completed Next Month.” Norwood Young America Times, January 9, 1997.
———. “What Will Merger Bring for NYA?” Norwood Young America Times, January 2, 1997.
“New Post Office Opens in NYA.” Norwood Young America Times, January 14, 1999.
“Norwood and Young America Celebrate Merger of Two Cities.” Carver County News, January 9, 1997.
“Norwood/Young America Councils Approve Merger.” Waconia Patriot, October 10, 1974.
“N/YA Apply for Grant to Help combine Some City Services.” Norwood Young America Times, January 6, 1994.
“NYA Post Offices Outline Changes.” Norwood Young America Times, March 27, 1997.
“Steering Committee Members Appointed for Merger Plan.” Norwood Young America Times, October 27, 1994.
“Young America Defeats Merger with Norwood.” Waconia Patriot, December 19, 1974.
